Vanishing Angle
by rajanakhi
Summary: Shuichi and Yuki have been together for a few years and now with a debatably special day approaching they've decided to take some time to be together. Too bad Yuki's location of choice is home to the one person from Shu's past he never wanted to see again
1. Chapter 1

Vanishing Angle: I don't actually know what that means. something about a ship sinking? I just liked the words together haha

_"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. …and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." _

_-St. Augustine_

I'm not sure if that quote still matches this story, but…it inspired it at the start and I really like it so I wanted to share it with you all :D

Disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami which is probably for the best—I'm happy just being able to play with the characters.

-xXx-

Yuki still wasn't sure how it had happened. One day he was the cool, aloof novelist that had somehow managed to win the hearts of the entire female population of Japan, and the next he's out buying a gift for his silly little lover who had somehow managed to worm his way into his heart and turn him inside out. With a not-so-discrete sigh, Yuki snapped open the box, gazing at the contents with limited expression; it was pretty and sparkly and therefore perfect for Shuichi. The box closed. But whether or not Shuichi would actually ever get it was a different issue entirely. He had just sat down in his car when a familiar tune reached his ears, but it took a moment longer for him to realize that it was coming from his pocket.

"I thought I told you not to set that stupid song as my ringtone anymore."

"_Aw but Yuki! It's only set as the ringtone for me, this way you'll know it's me when I call!"_

"Really? I suppose I should thank you, then. This way I'll know not to answer."

"_Yuki! I thought we were passed all of this_!" Shuichi complained through the earpiece.

"No, I agreed to be "nice" when you didn't act like such a fool all the time."

Judging from the nearly silent huff that was heard through the phone, Yuki could only assume Shuichi was pouting on the other end.

"Anyway, what did you want?" Yuki asked with a sigh.

"_Huh? Oh. I was just wondering if you had time tonight."_

"Sure, why?" Yuki had finished his last project two nights ago and upon his slightly reluctant request, his editor had agreed not to give him any more projects from then until a week or so after Valentines Day had passed. Though her face when he had asked for the time off had nearly made him want to flee the country. Women and their fantasies; he would never understand.

"_I'm off early so I wanted to eat dinner with you."_

Yuki frowned. Shuichi could be weird sometimes, but this was verging on creepy. "You are aware that we live together and having dinner together is a fairly common occurrence."

"_I'm not that stupid!"_ He heard Shuichi exclaim. _"I meant eat out, you know, like at a restaurant."_

"I'd ask why but I'm sure your reasoning would be completely lost on me." Yuki muttered, only half hoping that Shuichi could decipher the words.

"_Yuki…"_

"Right. Sorry. Do you want me to come pick you up then?"

"_Um actually I've already got a table at Le __Rêve__."_

Yuki's eyes narrowed. Something was up: Shuichi hated Le Rêve, always complained that they were paying far too much money for the amount of food they got. To be fair this was probably true. But Yuki still loved it.

"I'll be right there." Yuki said, sliding into the driver seat of his car and closing his phone.

The drive didn't take too long considering he was really only a few blocks away from his destination. The moment he entered the restaurant he was redirected to a decently private table located in the back.

"Shuichi." He greeted as he approached, leaning down to give his lover a brief kiss before seating himself across from him. Yuki wasn't necessarily a fan of public affection, but he made the occasional exception—especially since his brat was acting so mysteriously himself, he figured it was just a little dretaliation.

"Yuki, you got here quickly." Shuichi stammered, cheeks slightly pink from the unexpected kiss.

"I was in the area." Yuki said with a shrug. "Now whatever the hell it is you have to tell me, just tell me so we can stop the drama before it starts."

Shuichi pouted. "Can't I just ask my boyfriend out on the random occasion?"

"You can. And you do. But I thought you were busy finishing up your recordings so you could clear your schedule for Valentine's Day… You didn't get fired did you?" Yuki asked as an after thought.

"Like hell they would fire me!" Shuichi retorted indignantly. "And if you really must know, there _is_ a reason I asked you out…but I'm not telling you until dessert!" Shuichi exclaimed stubbornly.

"Fine, fine…Where're the menus?"

"I already ordered."

"You ordered for me?"

"You always get the same thing!" Yuki opened his mouth to object but closed it immediately.

"Fair enough." He muttered.

"So what were you doing around here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were in the area." Shuichi clarified as a waiter set down two plates of food in front of them.

"Oh right. I was with Mizuki; she wanted my opinion on the final product of the book before it went to print." Yuki lied smoothly.

Shuichi just nodded and Yuki got the feeling he wasn't really listening which for Shuichi was odd considering he always hung on every single word the blonde said.

"You sure you don't just want to tell me what's up?"

"Huh?" Shuichi asked dumbly, looking up from his food.

"Whatever the hell is distracting you, Shuichi, just spit it out."

"Well…" Shuichi set his fork down and looked at Yuki in a slightly nervous, slightly apologetic manner.

"You didn't blow anything up, did you?" Shuichi shook his head. "Kill anyone?" Again, no. "Did you finally realize it might be better to have someone else write your lyrics?" Shuichi glared at this, but still shook his head. "Did you try to run the dishwasher with too much soap?"

"That was only once!" Shuichi protested. "Stop holding it against me!"

"Then just tell me! I'm running out of logical explanations as to why you're so upset. And to be honest you're starting to worry me. Even if you want to wait until after dessert I can already tell you've hit the point of being too anxious to eat."

"Ok. So here's the thing." Shuichi conceded after a few minutes thought. "You know how we had planned to spend Valentine's Day together?"

"Yes." Yuki responded slowly, getting the feeling that he now knew why Shuichi was so nervous. They had been planning this trip for weeks, both looking forward to getting away—just the two of them.

"Well…now they—NG— want to have a Valentine's Day concert. Just one night, here in Tokyo."

"There's less than a week until Valentine's Day." Yuki stated, doing his best to remain calm outwardly though on the inside he wanted to march straight over to NG and demand that Tohma cancel this idiotic concert. "How do they plan on marketing this?"

"I think the hope is that my popularity combined with Ryuichi's will sell the concert on its own."

"That rabbit-totting kid is performing, too?"

"Well, yeah. They wanted us to do a duet together." Shuichi said quietly, trying to gauge Yuki's reaction. "And the concert shouldn't last long, I'll probably be home by 11…"

"You can't say no?"

"Believe me I tried. I ended up with three bullet holes in the wall around me head."

Yuki sighed and sat back in his chair. "They can't honestly be expecting you to do a concert on Valentine's Day. They do realize that we had plans, don't they?"

"I told them! I told them a million times, but they just…I don't know, they were very adamant."

"Fine. Whatever." Yuki said, pretending to be apathetic to the matter, though Shuichi could tell that in actuality he was put off by the news.

"I really am sorry."

Yuki didn't make any response, just set down some money that would more than cover the bill and left the table, leaving Shuichi to decide whether or not he should follow after. And of course he chose to follow, it wasn't as if Shuichi was ever one to give Yuki space.

Oddly enough though, Shuichi remained quiet throughout the car ride and up until they were back in the apartment they had shared for the past few years.

"Yuki." Shuichi said softly once the door had clicked shut behind him. "If you're really this upset about it, I can try and find a way out of it again."

"I already said it's fine, didn't I? Quit trying to make it seem like I'm heartbroken." Yuki quipped with a little more annoyance than he had intended.

"If it's any consolation, I now have two weeks after Valentine's Day completely free."

Yuki glared at his lover in annoyance. "I said it's fine, Shuichi. I never really held much for this holiday anyway. Really. What do you want me to do? Start crying? Beg you not to perform?"

"No. You're right, I didn't expect any of that." Shuichi said quietly. Yuki stopped at Shuichi's tone; it hadn't even occurred to him that Shuichi would be upset about this. A stupid mistake now that he thought about it. Walking back over, he pulled Shuichi into his arms and kissed the top of his head.

"I know you were looking forward to spending the day together so I promise I'll make it up to you." Shuichi laughed against his chest.

"Shouldn't _I_ be the one making it up to _you_? It's my fault anyway."

"True." Yuki said, kissing Shuichi's nose and pulling away. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you do your part too." He rolled his eyes at the silly grin that was covering Shuichi's face and set about putting away their coats and the car keys.

"What are we going to do then?" Shuichi asked, following Yuki over to the closet.

"Do for what?"

"Valentine's Day, we'll probably have to cancel most of our plans."

"Yeah…I don't know. But you just worry about this concert of yours—I mean you've only got what, four days to prepare?" Yuki called as he started making his way to bed. He was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping tightly around his waist.

"Love you, Yuki." The novelist smiled lightly as he turned in the embrace, tilting Shuichi's face up to kiss him gently on the mouth.

"You say those words far too often." Yuki murmured, a slight smile crossing his features as he stepped away to prepare for bed.

"And you don't say them enough!" Shuichi accused, though his tone was still slightly playful.

"I only say it when I mean it."

"So do I." Shuichi countered, joining his lover under the duvet.

"I'm not going to say it just to make you happy right now." Yuki growled letting exhaustion keep his eyes closed for an extended length of time.

"Fine. Good night Yuki." Shuichi whispered, maneuvering himself slightly more into Yuki's arms and onto his pillow.

"Shuichi." Yuki stated without opening his eyes. "Get off my pillow." He heard a light giggle and felt Shuichi cuddle even closer to him.

"Still such a brat." Yuki muttered, though he made no more arguments against the motion and instead accepted his boyfriend into an embrace.

-xXx-

Stop or continue…I don't know! **sigh** either way, hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: same as last chapter

-xXx-

The four days passed far too quickly and somehow during that time Yuki found himself busier than when he was writing a novel. He had assured Shuichi that he would take care of everything and certainly he was doing just that. However, as far as Shuichi knew, Yuki had simply cancelled the first two nights they had reserved at a villa in the warmer part of southern Japan.

In reality it was all a little more complicated than that.

Originally, the plan had been to fly Shuichi away to a destination that only Yuki knew—not even Tohma (or rather especially Tohma) had been given any specific information.

But now he had to try and find a plane that left Tokyo around 11 on Valentine's Day and would take them to the particular location he had selected.

Honestly it wasn't going well and from what he could see, he had two options: change location or call Tohma. Unfortunately (for Yuki at least) he couldn't bring himself to switch the destination—he knew Shuichi would absolutely love it and for some ridiculous and crazy reason that was all that mattered to him.

Biting back what was left of his pride, Yuki picked up his phone.

"_Eiri?" _Came the sometimes too familiar voice on the other end._ "So nice to hear from you, what can I do for you?" _

"I need a favor." Yuki said shortly, his displeasure at having to say that statement clearly evident in his tone.

"_As long as it's not about this concert, I'm more than willing to help you."_

"It's not. Though I will say that I don't like this last minute bullshit much." Tohma stayed quiet on the other end, after several years he had learned it was sometimes just best to let Yuki say what he would. "Anyway, I need your help arranging a flight."

"_Of course! Where to?"_

Yuki, only slightly begrudgingly, explained his plan to Tohma.

"_I think I can arrange something for that_." Tohma mused once Yuki was done talking_. "Let me make a few phones calls, I'll get back to you."_

As much as he hated to admit it, Tohma could be damn useful on occasion.

-xXx-

By the time Shuichi returned home from work that night, it was already quite late and Yuki was in bed right on the edge of sleep, completely exhausted from the day's plannings. Tohma had been brilliantly helpful in providing a private jet the he and Shuichi were apparently free to use for the next week. Although truth be told Yuki had a terrible feeling that someday this kindness would have to be repaid, but he would deal with that at a later date. The rest of the day had been spent repacking Shuichi's suitcase and replacing all of his cool, summery clothes with ones more suited to the current weather of their destination.

As tired as he was, he still vaguely registered the sound of the front door opening and closing followed by the soft rustling of clothes as Shuichi got ready for bed. He didn't say a word, however, until he felt the dip in the mattress as Shuichi carefully slid beneath the covers, obviously doing his best not to wake Yuki.

"You don't have to be so quiet. I'm not asleep yet." Yuki muttered, smirking when he felt a jolt in the mattress as Shuichi jumped a little next to him.

"You should have said something sooner!" Shuichi chided, taking advantage of the fact that Yuki was awake in order to rearrange his side of the bed to his liking in a less careful manner.

"And miss the opportunity to scare you like that? Never."

Shuichi just rolled his eyes and settled down between Yuki and his pillows.

"Hey." Shuichi ventured quietly, checking to see if Yuki was still awake.

"Hm?" Yuki responded vaguely, already dozing off once more.

"Will you come to the concert tomorrow?" Shuichi asked softly, threading his fingers through gold hair.

"You mean would I risk missing the chance to hear both you _and_ your idiot friend sing god-awful love songs to the entirety of Japan?"

"Yuki!" Shuichi whined, pouting at the insult.

"Of course I'll come, brat." Yuki amended quietly, closing his eyes: tomorrow would be another long day and he was going to need all the sleep he could get. "Now go to sleep." He felt Shuichi snuggle a little closer,

The last thing Yuki picked up on before he fell asleep was Shuichi's arm twining around his own and a quietly whispered goodnight.

-xXx-

Valentine's Day morning could hardly have been considered romantic, even by Yuki's sometimes unbearably low standards. Shuichi was up early, having to run down to the concert arena to work on "some song stuff" according to him, leaving Yuki alone with the day. Yuki wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation—and he was sure Shuichi felt the same—but the solitude allowed at least for some last minute packing.

And by last minute packing he mostly meant going down to the store so he could buy enough Pocky to keep Shuichi happy for a week.

As soon as Yuki set foot outside the apartment building, he immediately had to fight the urge to just turn around and retreat to the safety of his study. The world looked all around diseased, as if it had gotten a very bad case of the chicken pox or measles. Pink and red advertisements for Valentine's Day cluttered up all the shop windows Yuki passed as he made his way down to the supermarket and he suddenly found it very hard to believe he was actually buying into this holiday. At least where they were going, no one would recognize either Shuichi or himself—no one would ever know about this.

-xXx-

By mid afternoon, Yuki had finished all the preparations that he could and had managed to pass out on the couch, intent on a light nap before the concert and ten hour plane ride that would fill his night.

It was about the third time his phone went off that he was finally jolted from his sleep.

"Hello?" He mumbled into the phone, rubbing sleep from his eyes and wondering what time it was.

"_Eiri? You know I don't care whether or not you come to Shuichi's concerts, but he's absolutely desperate that you're here so—"_

"I know, I know. I promised I'd come. What time is it anyway? And why isn't Shuichi calling me himself?"

"_He's on stage. He asked me to call before he went out there."_

Yuki blanched. The concert had started? Well fuck.

"I'll be right there." He snapped his phone shut even as he was grabbing their bags to toss in the car.

-xXx-

"What'd I miss?" Yuki asked as he approached his brother-in-law backstage. He could hear for himself that Ryuichi and Shuichi were in the midst of the duet that Shuichi had mentioned.

"Not too much. Shuichi's just done a couple solo songs and this. You missed a few of the other performers though—not that you care, I'm sure."

"Other performers?" Yuki echoed in confusion. "I thought this concert was just for Shuichi and Ryuichi."

"Oh no. Well, they're the stars, to be sure, however this concert features a large range of artists from NG."

"I see. Then when is he done?"

"After this next song you two can be on your way."

"Four songs?" Yuki questioned as the audience gave a loud roar of approval, indicating the end of the duet. "He was dead insistent that I be here for four songs?"

Tohma smiled. "Actually, I have a feeling that it was just for this last one."

Before Yuki had time to question his brother-in-law any further, the object of the their conversation came running out from the stage.

"YUKI! You made it!" Shuichi exclaimed, barely managing to avoid crashing into Yuki as he skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late."

Shuichi shook his head. "You're here now."

Yuki shifted slightly, not entirely wanting to get into some mushy conversation in front of Tohma. "You have one more song to sing, don't you?"

"Oh! Yeah! I just came back to see if you had arrived."

"And obviously I have. So what are you still doing back here?"

Shuichi laughed, completely unperturbed by Yuki's unloving response, and stood up slightly on his toes to steal a kiss.

"Brat." Yuki muttered, watching his lover dart back on stage. He turned back to see Tohma standing there, a smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing. It's just…he really suits you."

Yuki scowled at the comment. "Don't say it like he's an accessory."

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

Yuki didn't respond to the comment and instead turned his attention towards the stage where a soft piano melody was flowing through the air.

"Who plays the piano?" Yuki asked quietly, not wanting to disrupt the tranquil spell the music was setting but still curious enough to need to ask.

Tohma looked at him for a moment as if he wasn't sure what Yuki meant by the question.

"It's Shuichi."

Yuki took a few more steps closer to the stage until he could see for himself that it was indeed Shuichi who sat at the piano.

It took less than a verse of the song for Yuki to figure out it had been written for him—not that this was uncommon—but for the first time, Yuki found himself completely silenced by the song. One look around told him he wasn't alone in the feeling; the audience and even those working backstage were staring at the band on stage with looks of admiration and respect.

The song ended and Yuki could hear a chant rise up from the crowd and it took Yuki a moment to realize they were saying a name and a moment more to realize it wasn't Shuichi's name they were calling, but _his._

"You've got to be kidding." Yuki muttered, now very aware that everyone in the nearby vicinity backstage was staring at him expectantly save for Tohma who might have had something akin to amusement hiding behind his eyes.

"I must say, Eiri, I never thought I'd see the day when you walked out onto a music stage like this."

"Who says I'm going out there now." Yuki spat in annoyance.

"You'd really leave him out there alone on Valentine's Day of all days?" Yuki glanced back out at Shuichi who either hadn't gotten the courage to turn and look over in his direction or was still in shock over the audience's reaction.

A bouquet of roses suddenly appeared in front of him and he looked passed them at his brother-in-law, more than slightly confused.

"What are these?"

"They're roses, Eiri. Anyone can see that."

Yuki rolled his eyes in irritation. "Yes, I'm aware. Why are you giving them to me?"

Tohma shrugged, "I thought something like this might happen, I had some flowers arranged just in case. Really, we can talk about this later."

Without another word Yuki took the flowers from Tohma's hand and strode out onto the stage. The effect was immediate. A hush fell over the crowd as if they, themselves, were even surprised that Yuki had chosen to make an appearance but the roar of approval that followed was deafening—even a bit intoxicating—and for a split second Yuki understood what it was about performing that Shuichi loved so much.

Speaking of Shuichi, his brat still had his hands resting on the piano keys and his head was slightly bowed. But as the crowd's screaming intensified he slowly lifted his head and turned towards Yuki. The novelist wasn't entirely sure how he managed to stay standing as Shuichi flung himself into his arms with that ridiculously dorky smile spread across his face but to his merit he only stumbled back one or two steps.

"You really thought I wouldn't come out here for you?" Yuki asked quietly as he set Shuichi down though he didn't completely let him go.

"I know how much you hate being in the public eye." Shuichi mumbled apologetically, blushing a little over his doubt in his boyfriend.

"I think I can deal with it every once in a while."

Shuichi just smiled widely, finally accepting the bouquet from Yuki's hand with another blush and a muttered "Thanks."

"If you're finished, I've got somewhere for us to be."

Shuichi looked momentarily confused—he thought the plan had been to leave tomorrow—but shrugged it off assuming Yuki had just forgotten to tell him of the change.

"Give me one minute." He said as he ran back to the microphone to bid his fans goodnight and a Happy Valentine's Day before practically sprinting off the stage. Yuki wasn't back there like he had initially expected, instead he was told that the blonde had already left and was waiting in a car outside.

"Took you long enough." Yuki muttered as Shuichi slid into the seat next to him.

Shuichi rolled his eyes. "That couldn't have been more than two minutes and you know it. I didn't even stop to change! Or shower for that matter…"

"I can tell." Yuki retorted, earning himself a flick on his temple.

"So anyway, where are we going? I thought we weren't leaving until tomorrow."

"Change of plans." Yuki said with a shrug.

"Alright…and what are they?" Shuichi asked when he realized Yuki wasn't going to elaborate any further without some encouragement.

"Oh. Tohma's lending us his plane so I didn't have to reschedule our flight. Nothing big."

"He's lending us a plane?" Shuichi repeated in disbelief. "He _has_ a _plane_?"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Yes and, obviously, yes."

Shuichi sat in silence for a minute.

"Can I get a plane?"

"I have nothing against that. Assuming you can afford it. And it's not pink. Or purple. Or has anything ridiculous painted on it. And as long you don't plan on flying it yourself."

"Alright, alright. I get it." Shuichi shivered lightly, the sweat that he had worked up while singing had cooled on his skin and was causing chills to run up and down his body.

"There's a shower on the plane and I brought a change of clothes for you." Yuki commented, taking note of the tremble.

"I'll be ok. The flight isn't too long."

"It's long enough." Yuki said with a shrug. "I'd rather you didn't start the week off by getting sick."

"Ok then." Shuichi complied sleepily, resting his head against the windowsill and letting his eyes slip shut from exhaustion. Yuki let him sleep for the duration of the car ride.

It was only after they had pulled up to the plane and Yuki had seen that all of the luggage was taken onboard and the car would be taken care of that he woke Shuichi.

"Hey, get out of the car. It would be a waste of time if I ended up going on this trip by myself."

Shuichi gave an understanding nod and proceeded to cuddle back into his seat.

"And people wonder why I so often want to kill him." Yuki muttered as he reached over Shuichi to unbuckle the seatbelt.

"I'm not carrying you into the plane so get out."

Shuichi smiled sleepily. "It was worth a shot." He said as he clambered out of the car.

Shuichi practically squealed with delight when they stepped into the main compartment of the plane, his tiredness completely forgotten. The front portion contained a carved wooden coffee table surrounded by a couch and a few armchairs. There was a well-stocked mini-bar. Closer to them was a lounge type area with more comfy chairs and a large t.v. screen that covered one of the walls. Behind where they had entered, Shuichi found both the bathroom and a closed off room that contained a large bed, neatly made with crisp, white bedding.

"This is amazing!" He exclaimed to Yuki who had already made himself comfortable with a beer in one of the armchairs. "I've decided: I'm saving up for a plane!" Yuki just rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, Yuki! Just think if we had our own plane, we could go anywhere at anytime!"

"I like Japan." Yuki responded simply, sipping his beer.

"Be that way then." Shuichi said with a scowl throwing himself into his own armchair.

Yuki didn't make any comment, content instead to let Shuichi sit out his sulk—only in extreme cases did they last longer than two minutes.

Once the plane was flying level in the air, Yuki tossed him a change of clothes and directed him to the shower despite Shuichi's protests that they would probably be at their destination within thirty or forty minutes. It only took Yuki about 20 seconds longer to decide to go and join his lover in the shower.

A little over thirty minutes the two were back in the lounge area, clean and decently satisfied. Shuichi collapsed onto the couch while Yuki headed to the bar to mix up a drink.

"Here, try this." Yuki commanded after a minute, handing Shuichi a glass filled with a clear, golden-brown colored liquid.

"What is it?" Shuichi asked, sniffing the drink gingerly before taking a tiny sip. His face instantly contorted into a look of disgust at the taste of the drink. "Ugh! Whatever it is, it's awful!"

"That's why it's for me and not you." Yuki said, taking the glass back, a barely perceptible smile hiding behind his eyes. "Try this instead." He said, holding out an opaque pink drink.

Shuichi looked at Yuki suspiciously, wondering if he was being tricked again, but obediently took a sip of the brightly colored drink. His eyes instantly lit up at the flavor.

"Like it?" Yuki asked, though one look at Shuichi's expression rendered the question completely unnecessary.

"It tastes like strawberries!"

"Right…just don't drink it too quickly."

Shuichi froze mid-sip. "This is alcohol?"

"Well, yeah. What did you think it was?"

"A smoothie."

"Well sure then. It's a smoothie. For adults. …Just drink it."

Despite Yuki's warning to drink it slowly, Shuichi downed his drink rather quickly and wasted no time in demanding Yuki make another.

"Drink it slowly this time." Yuki emphasized before allowing Shuichi to take hold of the glass.

"Ok, ok." Shuichi agreed, moving over so Yuki could join him on the couch again.

As Shuichi finished off the second drink, Yuki could tell that the alcohol was having the desired affect: making Shuichi sleepily. As the singer began to doze off, Yuki carefully took the nearly empty glass from Shuichi hand and set it in a nearby cup-holder, watching as Shuichi's eyes slid closed and his dropped onto Yuki's shoulder. They stayed that way for a long moment before Shuichi's bright purple eyes were open again and he was smiling apologetically up at Yuki.

"You're tired, it's ok if you want to sleep." Yuki said without giving Shuichi a chance to speak. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

Shuichi frowned at the suggestion. "But it's Valentine's Day—or at least what's left of it, I don't want to sleep—I want to be with you."

Yuki regarded the pop star for a moment and then pulled him over to sit on his lap. Shuichi complied, settling down against his chest.

"Don't be stupid, Shuichi. Valentine's Day really isn't any different from any other day."

Shuichi frowned with disagreement. "Yes it is!" he argued sleepily, though he didn't supply any more reason than that. Soon enough Shuichi's eyes had closed again and this time, they seemed to be remaining that way.

Yuki glanced down at the pop star, fast asleep on his lap. He knew he ought move him to the bed so he wouldn't wake up with a kink in his neck. Yuki scowled slightly; if he had been smart, he would have insisted they relocated to the bed while Shuichi was still awake.

Oh well.

Setting his drink aside in another cup holder, the blonde carefully scooped Shuichi off the couch and made his way to the back of the jet.

Despite the rather annoying number of times that Yuki had actually had to carry a sleeping Shuichi to the bed, he found it never really seemed to get any easier so when he reached the bed, he practically dropped Shuichi into the white blankets.

"That wasn't very nice." Shuichi murmured as he snuggled into the pillows.

"You little brat! You were awake?" Shuichi grinned but didn't say another word.

"Well…at least get under the covers."

"But aren't we almost there?" Shuichi asked, sitting up with a stretch and a yawn.

"Turns out the flight will be a little longer than anticipated."

Shuichi frowned, obviously unsatisfied with his lover's answer, even in his tired and semi-incoherent state.

"Yuki…" Shuichi began, sliding under the covers and motioning for his lover to do likewise. "Can't you just tell me what's going on?"

"No." Yuki said shortly, climbing in next to Shuichi and shutting his eyes.

"Fine then." Shuichi muttered sulkily. "Keep your secrets."

"Shuichi, if you really want to know where we're going, I suggest you just go to sleep; it'll make the plane ride go a hell of a lot faster."

Shuichi sent Yuki one last glare before scooting over and curling up against the blonde, resting his head on Yuki's chest. Yuki pulled the blankets up around them and settled an arm around his lover.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Yuki." Shuichi murmured softly, his eyes closed as he slowly began to slip off into sleep.

"Yeah…Shuichi?"

"Hm?"

"You never told me you could play piano."

He felt Shuichi smile against his chest. "I guess there're still some things you don't know about me then."

Yuki remained silent for a moment more, debating whether or not he should say what he wanted to say.

"The last song you sang…It was nice."

Shuichi pushed himself up at the words so he could look his lover in the face. "You really think so?"

"Do I look like a guy who gives fake compliments?" Yuki replied with the tiniest hint of irritation in his voice, not wanting to reiterate his sentiment.

"Right." Shuichi said with a grin. "For a moment you were being so sweet I forgot who I was talking to."

Yuki glowered at the comment and seriously considered taking some sort of course of action that would prove exactly how unsweet he really was. Instead he just gave a short, "Shut up and go to sleep." Thankfully for Yuki's sake, not another word came from Shuichi and soon the pair was sound asleep.

A few hours later, a loud beep and a voice coming from a loudspeaker announcing their arrival brought the couple back into the land of the conscious.

Yuki disentangled himself from Shuichi with a yawn. "Come on, you were the one who wanted to know where we were going."

"Yeah." Shuichi said, sliding out of the other side. "But only because I'm the only one who doesn't know!"

Yuki didn't say a word as he and Shuichi made their way to the exit. The door of the plane unfolded and a warm, evening light filled their vision just as a blast of cold air swept in around them

"Yuki…" Shuichi started, blinking in the light as he stepped off the plane and pulled his coat tighter around him. "Where are we?"

"Welcome to Italy, Shu." Yuki replied with a smile, kissing the top of Shuichi's head and Shuichi felt his heart sink at the words.

-xXx-

I promise…well, at least I intend to try to make this story more interesting/dramatic.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue (please).

Previously…(since you guys probably forgot…I know I had by the time I finally decided to write this hehe)

_Shuichi stared, blinking in the light as he stepped off the plane and pulled his coat tighter around him. "Where are we?"_

_"Welcome to Italy, Shu." Yuki replied with a smile, kissing the top of Shuichi's head and Shuichi felt his heart sink at the words. _

-xXx-

"Italy?" Shuichi repeated in a faint breath.

"You don't like it?" Yuki asked with only mild concern.

"No," Shuichi said, breaking away from his disconcerting thoughts, "I love it!" He exclaimed jumping up and throwing his arms around Yuki's neck.

"Alright, alright, you've made your point." Yuki grumbled pushing Shuichi off of him once he decided he had held on long enough.

"Sorry." Shuichi apologized, grinning sheepishly.

"I didn't say you needed to apologize." Yuki muttered in slight annoyance even as he started steering Shuichi towards a sleek black car that sat waiting for them just off the runway.

"So I guess this is why you were kind of upset at me for messing up the dates…and also why you made me change clothes."

"You're catching on." Yuki commented dryly as the car took off. Not five minutes later, they came to a stop at the edge of a large body of water across which Shuichi could see yellow and white lights twinkling in the distance.

"What's this?" Shuichi asked.

"It's a boat. We have these in Japan, too, so don't go getting all touristy on me just yet."

"Obviously. I meant why are we taking one?" Shuichi asked again, accepting Yuki's helping hand as he stepped onto the vessel.

"No cars in Venice." Yuki remarked briefly. "So, come on."

"Venice?!" Shuichi exclaimed, a smile breaking across his face once more; Venice was a city he had always longed to go to and better yet, last he heard, his _friend_ was nowhere near Venice. Perfect.

Shuichi was in awe through the entire boat ride. Despite the fading light, he did his very best to take in every sight they passed—much to Yuki's amusement—and once they entered into the twisting maze of canals, he was practically begging Yuki to let them keep exploring rather than go to the hotel.

Yuki very adamantly said no. He did, however, promise Shuichi a gondola ride later which got the pop star to shut up for the duration of the trip (though he continued to look around in amazement all the way up to their suite in the hotel).

"Yuki! This place is amazing!" Shuichi exclaimed, spinning in a slow circle as he walked into their room.

"Is there anything else you need?" The bellboy who had brought their luggage up asked.

"No, thank you." Yuki said, absentmindedly handing him a tip. Once the two had been left alone, Yuki grabbed his bag so he could move it to the bedroom.

"Shu! Come get your stuff." He yelled over his shoulder. No response came and there was no other noise to indicate Shuichi was coming over to obey.

"Shuichi?" He questioned once more. No response once again. With a sigh, he set down his bag and turned to look for his missing boyfriend. He quickly found him standing out on the balcony and leaning over the railing so far that Yuki swore he would fall off.

Sneaking up behind his lover, Yuki quickly grabbed his shoulders and pushed him forward before pulling him back to safety. Yuki admitted to himself that the action was a little childish, but the cute little yell of surprise and the way Shuichi was currently holding on to him made it well worth it.

"Yuki!" Shuichi exclaimed, jumping away from his boyfriend and glaring up at him once his fear of dying passed.

"What?" Yuki asked, feigning ignorance.

"You terrified me!"

"Well that's what you get for ignoring me." Yuki said with a shrug.

"Ah. Sorry." Shuichi said glancing back at the view. "It's just so beautiful."

"So. I take it you like it then." Yuki commented from behind his boyfriend who was staring out over Venice once again.

"Yeah. I feel like I could just stay up here the whole trip—the lights are so beautiful!" Shuichi said, turning to grin at Yuki.

"I wouldn't be completely opposed to that." Yuki said wrapping his arms around Shuichi's waist and pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. Shuichi let out a soft squeak of surprise and a rosy flush filled his cheeks which only deepened as Yuki moved to claim his lips. Shuichi relaxed into the kiss with a sigh; no matter how long they were together, Shuichi would never tire of Yuki's kisses and then way they always sent his head spinning.

All too soon, Yuki pulled away, "Go get unpacked, brat."

"Right now?" Shuichi whined, unhappy with both the command and the loss of contact.

"Yes, now. If you don't do it now, I know you'll just make a mess living out of your suitcase for the next week."

Shuichi grumbled incoherently but set about putting his things away in the drawers and closet.

Once he finished, Shuichi returned to the living area to join Yuki—who had finished unpacking quite some time ago—on the couch.

"Yuki?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you do all of this? I'm mean, I love it, I really do…but you hate Valentine's Day, don't you?"

"You like this kind of stuff." Yuki stated bluntly as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Shuichi looked momentarily startled—he'd known the answer but he hadn't expected Yuki to own up so easily.

"Thank you." Shuichi said quietly, not really knowing what else to say. Yuki remained silent and for a while the two of them remained as they were on the couch.

"So what should we do first?" Shuichi asked, grinning at his boyfriend.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's kind of nighttime here so…bed?" Yuki suggested with a shrug.

"I slept on the plane…" Shuichi said with a pout.

"Sorry," Yuki said with a grin of his own as he picked Shuichi up off the couch. "Did you hear me suggesting sleep?"

-xXx-

The following day proved bright and sunny if still chilly from the last remnants of winter and Shuichi couldn't wait to head out to explore Venice. However, almost as soon as he stepped foot outside of the hotel, something else immediately grabbed his attention.

"Yuki…why are there so many people dressed in costumes and masks?! Are you sure we haven't gone back in time or something?" Shuichi whispered to the blonde, forgetting that most likely no one would be able to understand him.

"I didn't mention? The Carnival of Venice is going on right now. I thought you'd enjoy the costumes and whatnot so…Shuichi?!"

"This is so cool!" Shuichi exclaimed, running down the street in hopes of finding more costumes around the corner.

"Next time I'm choosing a place without costumes." Yuki grumbled to himself, suddenly regretting his decision as he slowly followed after the pink-haired singer.

"Hey, brat. How about instead of sightseeing today, we just wander around…at a more human speed." Yuki suggested once he had caught up to a slightly lost Shuichi.

"Sure." Shuichi responded with a sheepish smile, looping his arm through Yuki's.

It didn't take Shuichi long to figure out there were places that Yuki actually really wanted to see—mostly involving books or old but important buildings— and Shuichi couldn't help but wonder if they had anything to do with Yuki's choice of location. Regardless he was content just spending the time with the novelist and watch the people go about in their strange outfits and masks.

"How do you feel about heading back to the mainland for some dinner?" Yuki asked after their day of "aimless wandering".

Shuichi looked slightly skeptical. "Yuki, we'd just be going for dinner, right? Because I swear we've seen every single old library and building in this entire country!"

"Well then it's a good thing we aren't going to see another old building, isn't it? …And in any case, there are a lot of "old libraries and buildings" in this country that we haven't seen."

Just as he promised, the two found a cozy restaurant—no side trips included—where Shuichi endeavored to order and finish completely his own large Italian style pizza.

"If you get sick don't blame me." Yuki commented as they left the restaurant. "I gave you fair warning that you shouldn't finish the whole thing if you felt like you couldn't."

"Please! I'm fine! …Though I may pass on breakfast tomorrow."

A small smile passed across Yuki's face, not that Shuichi could really see it in the dark anyway. "Alright then, if you're "fine", join me for a walk?"

"Yuki…"

"No old buildings, I know. It would be too dark to see them anyway."

Shuichi looked slightly skeptical but followed his boyfriend anyway. Instead of leading Shuichi back to where their boat was docked as the singer had initially expected, Yuki lead them towards what appeared to be a park, filled with trees that, had it been spring, would have been weighed down by blossoms. As it was, there were only the faintest signs of green accompanied by an icy breeze.

Eventually Yuki came to a stop at a pool of water, seating himself on a bench and motioning for Shuichi to join him. For a long while Yuki didn't say a word, instead staring at the man-made lake in front of him, just watching the reflections of the moon and surrounding lampposts as they shifted and changed along with the ripples in the water.

Shuichi, in turn, was watching his boyfriend in concern. Something was clearly on his mind but he had absolutely no indication as to what it might be and consequently had no idea how to broach the silence.

"Shuichi…I…have something I want to say to you and… I'd like it if you'd just listen."

Shuichi slowly nodded, a million thoughts flashing through his mind as he tried to figure out what Yuki would say—maybe this unexpectedly nice trip to Italy _was_ too good to be true.

"Every day I wonder what it is about me that you claim to love so much."

Shuichi gave a small frown, not liking this unbelievably uncharacteristic remark. "Yuki—"

"What did I say about just listening?" Yuki remarked with a slight glower. Shuichi shut his mouth.

"Anyway, I guess I'll get straight to the point of this." Yuki slid from his seat on the bench so he was on one knee in front of Shuichi who was staring at him in complete and utter shock. "I know it's technically not legal for us to get married, but I also don't do the best job of getting my feelings across. So I want you know once and for all that I love you and absolutely nothing would make me happier than to be married to you, even if it can only ever be acknowledged between the two of us." Yuki finished, pulling a small dark box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a ring nestled snuggly in black satin.

For a long moment Shuichi just stared before falling down from the bench and throwing his arms around Yuki's neck.

"You realize that I'm never going to let you go now, right? And if you dare pull one of those disappearing stunts again…well, I'll find you."

"Yeah. I've already come to count on that." Yuki whispered returning the embrace. Only when Yuki was aware of the cold from the stones seeping up through his clothes did he let go and pull Shuichi up to a standing position.

"So…I take it that was a theoretical yes?"

Shuichi nodded and laughed, still hardly able to believe it as Yuki slipped the ring onto his finger.

Shuichi quieted as he stared at the ring: a shining, silver creation that seemed to be made of two slightly wide, overlapping bands, the top of which had an inset strand of diamonds. Overall not too girly yet still very pretty.

"It's perfect, thank you." Shuichi whispered, standing on his toes kiss his boyfriend.

"Unless you've got an interest in becoming an exhibitionist, I suggest we get back to the hotel."

"You're fault for choosing somewhere so far away!" Shuichi complained, but stepped away anyway as he had an odd feeling that Yuki wouldn't say no to his own comment.

-xXx-

"Don't you want to call your little friends?" Yuki asked softly once the two were curled up together in bed basking in post-coital bliss.

"I thought about it. I'd rather see their expressions in person."

"Fair enough."

-xXx-

Shuichi awoke feeling happier than he had felt in ages, pulling his hand out from under the blanket, he admired the ring the adorned his ring finger, partially to reassure himself that it wasn't a dream and partially because he just liked the way it looked on his hand.

"If you start paying more attention to that thing instead of me, I _will_ take it away." A slightly groggy voice stated from beside him. Shuichi turned his head to see Yuki watching him through half opened eyes.

Shuichi grinned and rolled onto his side to kiss his lover. "Like that would ever happen."

"So what do you want to do today?"

Shuichi shrugged. "I don't care what we do during the day, but later…"

"Later what?" Yuki prompted, not in the mood to play guessing games so early in the morning.

"Can we stay out a little later than usual tonight?"

"…How late?"

"Not very!" Shuichi amended quickly, sensing Yuki's imminent rejection. "I just want to see all the costumes and stuff at night…and…I heard there was some kind of dance in St. Mark's square tonight."

Yuki looked uncertain though not completely opposed.

"Please Yuki! Just for a bit!"

"…Fine. But when I say we're leaving, we're leaving. None of that 'ten more minutes' shit."

Shuichi let out a squeal of joy and consequently, 12 hours later Yuki found himself in a heavily decorated St. Mark's Square surrounded by gaudy costumes, a full orchestra (in costume), a dance floor for renaissance style dancing, and even a hot air balloon. At least they seemed to have a full bar, Yuki noted, taking sight of familiar looking liquor bottles across the way.

Shuichi, on the other hand, looked positively thrilled to be there, spinning slowly in a circle as they entered the area to see the decorations, costumes, and dancing.

He stopped halfway through a spin, catching sight of a beautiful porcelain mask decorated with flourishes of ebony and gold. It took him a moment longer to realize that whoever was wearing that mask was seemed to be staring directly back at him. Slightly unnerved, he broke the gaze and reached out to grab Yuki's hand.

"You ok?" Yuki asked, looking down at the singer curiously.

"I'm fine. Just didn't want to get separated….You think we should have gotten masks?" Shuichi asked Yuki as they watched the scene of bright lights and costumes.

"No. We've got your hair. That's more than enough."

"Hey!" Shuichi exclaimed, covering his hair with his hands defensively.

Yuki nodded and led him over to a vacant table, placing a drink order with a passing waiter.

A few minutes later, when a fancy looking pink drink topped with a strawberry and pineapple slice was placed in front of Shuichi, he looked at Yuki in surprise.

"What's this?"

"It's a Strawberry Daiquiri. It's sweet so I thought you might like it."

Shuichi took a tentative sip and after a moments consideration he took on a very pleased expression.

"Just be careful there's—" Shuichi pushed the empty glass aside, asking for a refill. "Alcohol in there…"

One more daiquiri and lots of forced water later, Shuichi set off through the crowd in search of a toilet feel slightly fuzzy but otherwise fine. Once finished, Shuichi set off back towards Yuki only to realize he hadn't exactly take note of where they had been sitting. Glancing up, he tried to orient himself against the hot air balloon, the only landmark he had really taken note of. Deciding on a direction, Shuichi turned and walked straight into someone.

"Oh! Excuse me!" Shuichi said, once again entirely forgetting that no one else spoke Japanese.

"Shuichi? Is that you?" Came a slightly muffled voice

Shuichi started in surprise at hearing his native tongue and looked up once more to see the beautiful porcelain mask he thought he had seen watching him earlier.

"Sorry, do I know you?"

The man before him pulled the mask off and Shuichi found himself staring into very familiar coal-colored eyes.

"Mira?!"

"So I was right!" Mira exclaimed with a smile. Shuichi's look of surprised instantly morphed into one of contempt and irritation.

"Yeah…Nice to see you, now if you'll excuse me…"

"Woah, hold up!" Mira said, grabbing hold of Shuichi's arm. "I haven't seen you in what, six years? And this is the greeting I get? I mean, what the hell are you even doing here?"

Shuichi looked away, it had been a while, but still… "I have to get back to Yuki." Shuichi stated, pulling his arm away and hoping Mira would take the hint.

"Oh yes, I heard about that. Yuki Eiri. You've done well for yourself, first a model and now a famous novelist." Mira said with a grin, though anyone could tell the comment was not meant to be a compliment.

"Oh please, you weren't a model at the time." Shuichi retorted scathingly.

"Don't be like that!" Mira pleaded playfully. "If you're still bitter about—"

"I'm not! Now if you don't mind I really need to be heading back."

"I don't think that will be necessary." Mira remarked, taking a step away from Shuichi and looking past him with a small smirk on his lips. "Seems like he's coming to us."

Shuichi's head snapped around and sure enough he could see Yuki making his way through the crowd towards them.

"Go away!" Shuichi hissed though he knew Mira had no intention of leaving.

"Alright."

Shuichi looked at Mira in surprise.

"But only if you promise to meet me tomorrow night. 1 a.m. outside your hotel, where are you staying?"

Shuichi looked uncertain, thinking quickly.

"I wouldn't suggest lying, my dear, I can find you one way or another."

"Hotel Danieli." Shuichi said finally. "Now please, just go."

"See you then!" Mira sang, blowing a kiss. Shuichi scowled after him, sending very strong mental curses towards the other.

"Who was that?" Shuichi jumped, having momentarily forgotten that Yuki was around.

"Er…he's a model who works in Italy. I knew him in high school." Shuichi replied awkwardly, wanting to give Yuki enough information so that he wouldn't feel the need to enquire any further.

"Does he have a name?"

"Huh?" Shuichi asked, slightly taken aback; of all the things he had expected Yuki to ask, Mira's name had not been on the list.

"His name's Mira."

"…No last name?" Yuki pressed and Shuichi could see he was curious despite how nonchalant he tried to act about it.

"I don't remember." The singer lied after a pause. "Anyway. Enough about him, let's get more of those strawberry things!" Shuichi exclaimed even as he was pulling Yuki towards the bar.

-xXx-

The couple finally made it back to their hotel room around two in the morning, Shuichi very much drunk and giggly and Yuki very much regretting having ever introduced Shuichi to strawberry daiquiris.

Immediately upon entering the room, Shuichi kicked off his shoes and ran to the bedroom, jumping onto the bed in a fit of laughter, calling for Yuki to come jump on the bed with him.

"Oh no. You go shower; you reek of alcohol. Besides, you'll make yourself sick jumping on the bed." Yuki commanded, pulling Shuichi up and pushing him towards the adjacent bathroom.

"Fine, fine." Shuichi slurred. "But only if you come join me!"

Despite himself, Yuki smiled as he watched Shuichi try to give him an "I'm serious" look only to keep breaking into hazy giggles. If only Japan could see its favorite pop star this drunk. Actually if only Japan could see him as he always was. …They'd probably just love him more.

"Of course I will."

"Promise?"

"Yes! Now in you get!" Yuki exclaimed, practically jumping out of the room before Shuichi could say more. He stood outside the door, waiting until the sound of the shower running became interwoven with a song. Comforted that his singer was otherwise distracted, Yuki headed to the room's phone with only a small mental curse at Shuichi for putting him in this situation yet again.

"_Hello_?"

"Hey Tohma, can you look someone up for me?"

"…_Eiri? Is that you?"_

"Huh? Of course it's—oh. Sorry, I'm calling with the hotel's phone."

"_I see. Now what did you want from me?"_

"We ran into some guy named Mira last night. Shuichi said he went high school with him."

"_You want me to do a background check on some guy from Shuichi's high school days?"_

"I know how this sounds," Yuki growled in irritation, "but I've never seen Shuichi act so coldly towards another person—well, except for Aizawa."

"_Very well. Will I be able to reach you at this number?"_

"For the next few days, yes."

"_Then I'll get back to you soon."_

Tohma put the phone back in its holder. Truth was he already knew all about Mira—he had found out about the model while investigating Shuichi when he and Eiri had first started dating. He never knew the extent of Shuichi's relationship with Mira, yet a few paparazzi photos of the model from early in his career also contained the singer—granted at that time Shuichi's hair had still been black so the relationship between the two had never been picked up by fans or the media.

He hadn't, however, imagined the two were more than just friends, he had simply taken note of the connection due to Mira's fame. But if Shuichi had reacted so adversely upon meeting his former friend, perhaps there had been more to the relationship…

Tohma sat back in his chair with a slight smile, wondering how long he should wait before telling Yuki what he knew.

-xXx-

=_= This… THIS STORY WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE 2 CHAPTERS LONG!

Well. What happens, happens I suppose.


End file.
